132 NA TUBAL SCIENCE [August 



The book contains a portrait of the author, a map of Perthshire, 

 and Prof. Traill has also contributed a memoir, a list of scientific 

 papers, and an introduction. Obviously Dr White's own introduction 

 (48 pp.) is incomplete. Apparently it has been thought best to 

 publish it, so far as possible, without alteration, though some minor 

 changes have been introduced. Hence when the heading "Geology 

 of Perthshire more especially in its relation to the distribution of 

 the Flora" arouses pleasant anticipations of an account of a sorely 

 neglected part of field-botany by one well qualified to judge, we 

 must not be disappointed to find nothing whatever about the Flora, 

 only geological information and a few notes as to the fertility of the 

 soils. 



The subdivisions of the county are based on the river- valleys. 

 Fortunately we have a Highland and a Lowland Isla as well as 

 similar divisions for Perth, Earn, and Forth. Most unfortunately the 

 vicious system of Watsonian vicecounties has not been entirely 

 thrown away and this is the solitary fault to be found with this 

 handsome volume. There is in this Flora, as indeed in most county 

 Floras, nothing to show that Darwin or Drude or Engler or Warming 

 or the numerous tribe of German, Scandinavian, and Russian botanists 

 ever existed. The ideas of distribution in this country have stopped 

 with Mr H. C. Watson. If the distribution alone has to be made 

 clear, one might have thought that Mr C. B. Clarke's paper on 

 Tabulation Sub-areas had proved clearly enough that the only satis- 

 factory plan is to make subdivisions based on degrees of latitude and 

 longitude. If these are drawn small enough, any required degree of 

 accuracy in the range of a species can be obtained, and its distribution 

 on a railway line, in a valley or along a mountain chain stands out 

 clearly. For the study of plant-associations or plant distribution on 

 modern lines, this book affords no help whatever. Fortunately the 

 absurd West Perth, East Perth, and Mid Perth have been disregarded. 

 Dr White has gone so far as to separate the Old lied Sandstone 

 districts from the Pre-Cambrian or "Silurian" (p. -1) and this is the 

 line of division followed between the Highland and Lowland Earn, 

 &c. Presumably, like many others, he was afraid to disturb the 

 faith of the average British botanist in the late Mr H. C. Watson. 

 The actual treatment is best seen by a typical example. 



Order XXXIX.— ERICACEAE. 



TRIBE I. — ARBUTEAE. 

 1. ARCTOSTAPHYLOS Adans. 



A. Uva-ursi Spreng. (87, 88, 89.) 

 L. o Earn, ooo 



H. Earn, Perth, Isla, o Breadalbane, Rannoch, Atholl. 



Hab. Dry rocky places on the mountains. Local. 

 ALT. Ascends to 2850 ft. in Rannoch and 2000 in H. Earn and 

 Atholl. 



Loch Rannoch (Professor Hope, 1762). 



Almost confined to the Highland area ; but near Crieff it occurs on conglomerate 

 rocks of the Old Red Sandstone. 



L. stands for the Lowland Districts on Old Red Sandstone. H. 

 for the Highland on older rocks. " " means that the plant does not 



